As they gathered to remember the victims of the Las Vegas shooting, several Naperville residents Tuesday also vowed to take action to help prevent gun violence.

Members of Moms Demand Action for Gunsense Naperville and Moms Building Bridges organized Tuesday's prayer vigil in downtown Naperville. The vigil, organized to remember the 59 who died and the hundreds injured in Sunday's massacre, also served as a backdrop for a call to action for responsible gun control laws.

"We have to do something," Naperville Councilwoman Becky Anderson said. "We won't let this happen again. We just can't."

The vigil drew about 50 people, including local ministers, residents, politicians and students. Prayers were offered by a local minister, a rabbi and an imam.

Imam Rizwan Ali, of the Islamic Center in Naperville, pointed to the human kindness shown in the wake of the horrific tragedy in Las Vegas.

"If we just look at the tragedy and don't focus on some of these positive aspects, we can get demoralized," Ali said, referring to "ordinary" people who offered aid to victims. "Think about how they came together and what we can do to help prevent situations like this from happening again."

A Naperville Central High School student also spoke about an incident at her school Tuesday, where authorities discovered an unloaded gun on campus.

"A student has brought a gun into our school, the place where we should feel safe, the place where we can talk about our problems when we need help," Naperville Central High School sophomore Lindsay Powell told the group. "The gun didn't have any ammo in it, but it could have. It's all about those could haves.

"I don't want to live in a place where it's not even safe for me to go to school."

Powell, like others at the vigil, said if things are to change, legislators must take the lead.

"The only way for this to be fixed is if you demand action," Powell told the group.

Others agreed.

"There are so many things we do," said the Rev. Tom Capo, of the DuPage United Universalist Church in Naperville. "There are laws that could be passed if we just have the will to do it."

Countering arguments that it is too soon to bring up gun control, Shelly Sandstrom, of Naperville, noted that for those who have fallen victim to gun violence, it is "much too late" for change.

"It could be anyone of us," said Holly Blastic, a Naperville woman who helped organize the vigil. "But it doesn't have to be for us to care."

Those at the prayer vigil were encouraged to call state and federal lawmakers or join a local group such as Moms Demand Action for Gunsense to lobby for change.

"I don't want someone to suffer the way my family has," said Amy Chavez, a Naperville woman whose father was left blind after being attacked by a gunman in 2001.